Affordable Housing (6400)
Concerning local authority to address affordable housing needs through regulation of rent and associated charges.
2/7/18 Our priority affordable housing bill, in both the House and Senate. Despite an outpouring of support from the public and Federation members, HB 2583 and SB 6400 were not scheduled for committee votes by the Feb. 2 cutoff deadline. But our multi-level effort to address the economic concerns of our members living in high-cost areas of the state continues – stronger than ever.
1/30/18 Affordable housing effort moves to Senate
Our priority effort on affordable housing moved to the Senate Tuesday (Jan. 30).
Alex Bacon, a Seattle Central College member and president of Seattle Local 304, said all SB 6400 does would be to allow local governments to consider rent controls as one tool to cap housing costs that are pricing many state employees out of their communities.
“Housing in Washington is unaffordable for state employees and other workers,” Bacon told the Senate Financial Institutions Committee.
“It’s not just Seattle, it’s Bellingham, Vancouver, Spokane, even Ellensburg....
“The rent problem creates recruitment and retention problems for agencies like the Seattle College District.”
The high cost of housing “threatens the very viability of institutions like the Seattle district with all the turnover that we have,” Bacon said.
See companion bill (2583) report.